Barley Crusher issue

[SixFoFalcon]

First off, this is NOT about the black o-ring falling out. That happened years ago and I know it doesn't matter--the grain makes the slave roller turn anyway.

I have a much bigger problem. Sometimes in the middle of milling my grain, everything just stops milling. I can see the input shaft is still turning just fine (it's not like the drill chuck is slipping on the shaft) but nothing is coming through at all, and there is no resistance on the drill. In the past, reversing direction on the drill and then resuming normal operation had a tendency to get it going again. I thought it was just a "dead spot" in the grain flow--a bottleneck, if you will, that kept the grain from falling into the roller gap.

Due to the urgency of getting my grains milled on brew day, I never seem to have the time to do a thorough investigation. If the reversing direction thing doesn't work, I rap the mill & bucket on the floor a couple times and try again. If that doesn't work, I dump the unmilled grain out check it for foreign matter, then back into the hopper and try again. I try pushing and pulling on the drill, going very slow, very fast, etc. and usually I can get through the job, but lately it's been more miss than hit. I'm wondering if the primary/master roller is slipping on the input shaft.

Anyone else had similar issues? Worst case scenario, I can get a replacement due to the excellent warranty, but I hate shipping things back and forth and dealing with delays. If there's a simple DIY fix I'm all ears.

 

[samc]

Have you taken it apart and cleaned, then lubed it?

 

[SixFoFalcon]

Nope. I don't see how that would help. The rollers spin freely on the bushings.

 

[Hugh_Jass]

I'd bet your slave roller needs cleaned. Free-spinning or not, it's hanging up. I've had this problem. the solution was to clean the slave roller of all dust then re-assemble.

 

[wildwest450]

Start malt conditioning. You will add a lot of life to your mill, and cleaning will be a thing of the past.
And if the rollers are spinning freely, the drill is slipping and it's your problem not theirs.
_

 

[Hugh_Jass]

^^^^^what WildWest and his ladies said^^^^^^

It's amazing the difference between conditioned and non-conditioned malt. Very little, if any, dust and in tact grain husks.

Highly recommended

 

[SixFoFalcon]

Start malt conditioning. You will add a lot of life to your mill, and cleaning will be a thing of the past.
And if the rollers are spinning freely, the drill is slipping and it's your problem not theirs.
_

The drill isn't slipping. Read the post before replying, please.

 

[samc]

I am 100% in favor of Malt Conditioning - but the mill should work without having to do Conditioning!

Spinning rollers or not, as I stated above, the 15 minutes dis-assembly and cleaning with resetting the gap will benefit the process. Beyond that I see no other fix and I'd guess that is exactly what they would do if you sent it back.

 

[Yambor44]

First off, this is NOT about the black o-ring falling out. That happened years ago and I know it doesn't matter--the grain makes the slave roller turn anyway.

I have a much bigger problem. Sometimes in the middle of milling my grain, everything just stops milling. I can see the input shaft is still turning just fine (it's not like the drill chuck is slipping on the shaft) but nothing is coming through at all, and there is no resistance on the drill. In the past, reversing direction on the drill and then resuming normal operation had a tendency to get it going again. I thought it was just a "dead spot" in the grain flow--a bottleneck, if you will, that kept the grain from falling into the roller gap.

Due to the urgency of getting my grains milled on brew day, I never seem to have the time to do a thorough investigation. If the reversing direction thing doesn't work, I rap the mill & bucket on the floor a couple times and try again. If that doesn't work, I dump the unmilled grain out check it for foreign matter, then back into the hopper and try again. I try pushing and pulling on the drill, going very slow, very fast, etc. and usually I can get through the job, but lately it's been more miss than hit. I'm wondering if the primary/master roller is slipping on the input shaft.

Anyone else had similar issues? Worst case scenario, I can get a replacement due to the excellent warranty, but I hate shipping things back and forth and dealing with delays. If there's a simple DIY fix I'm all ears.

Bumping this as I am having the exact same problem. Did you ever find a solution?

 

[day_trippr]

Considering how easy it is to completely dismantle a Barley Crusher (10 minutes) I'd do so, then wrap a small towel around the driving roller, stick it in a bench clamp or otherwise immobilize it, attach the crank, and see if the crank shaft is turning inside the roller using a reasonably applied amount of force (don't go all gorilla on it).

It may well be a press fit that has lost its grip - or perhaps a cement that has failed - in which case two options are to either find a way to cement the shaft in place, or get the mill repaired by the manufacturer...and post the results here, of course

Cheers!

 

[sweet_corn]

I had the same problem suddenly a few brews ago, probably 60+ batches in. roller spun with the drill no problem but no grain went through. I switched to the hand crank, same problem. I remembered one of these posts and grabbed the air compressor and blew out around the rollers. No problems since.

I should probably make that common practice....

 

[FSR402]

I have the same problem and I also do the "rap the mill and bucket on the floor". Be careful when doing this. on my last brew the weight of my drill bent the drive shaft.

 

[BeerCanuck]

My experience repeats most of what has already been posted previously.
One handy tip I find that works is giving the mill a running start before dumping the malt
into the hopper. Once the mill is "primed" there are no further issues unless you stop.

Cheers;
BeerCanuck

 

[tomroeder]

The only time I had the same problem with my Barley Crusher was when I started malt conditioning, I was wetting the grist and waiting one hour to mill. Had a hard time getting the mill to prime. Now, I wet the grist, wait 10 minutes, and I have not had the slightest issue since. Wet milling rules, if you haven't done it, do it. You'll love it

 

[bja]

I had this same problem about a year ago. I took it apart, cleaned and oiled everything (this should be done occasionally anyway to prevent premature wear) but it didn't help.

I had my gap set at .032" and finally changed it to .037". No more problems since then, and my efficiency didn't change at all.

 

[stevedasleeve]

I had this problem on and off, very frustrating - and I completely relate to last minute brew day milling urgency! Three things helped for me:

1. I disassembled and cleaned the thing.
2. I set the gap back to factory default (actually a little wider .... big surprise to me was my efficiency went *up*!)
3. thoroughly de-dust the beast after milling. I don't disassemble though I use a brush and compressed air.

Also I mill the night before when I have time.

Note that 2. above was the kicker for my mill.

FWIW and YMMV and WTF,
Steve da sleeve

 

[SixFoFalcon]

My problem has been fixed. I disassembled the unit (not hard) and cleaned out the bushings with alcohol (they were getting a bit grimey,) lubed them with keg lube, installed some nylon washers on one end of each of the rollers (there was some side-to-side play that I wanted to eliminate,) and re-assembled, setting the gap to .038". I had been checking the gap periodically, so I don't think it was simply a gap issue. Maybe the bushings on the slave roller were heating up after a few revolutions and binding?

At any rate, I would recommend that all barley crusher users clean and lube every so often, and check the gap regularly. I buy my base malts in bulk (50# or 55# sacks) so I plan on cleaning and lubing the barley crusher every time I use up a sack of grain. It only takes about 10 minutes.

You'll need the following tools/supplies:

Phillips screwdriver
Rubbing alcohol
Q-tips
Keg lube
Feeler gauge (.038" works best for me)

*edit* - you'll also need a socket or wrench to remove the crusher from the wooden base. I think it was somewhere around 11mm or 7/16" but I'm not sure.

 

[Yambor44]

Considering how easy it is to completely dismantle a Barley Crusher (10 minutes) I'd do so, then wrap a small towel around the driving roller, stick it in a bench clamp or otherwise immobilize it, attach the crank, and see if the crank shaft is turning inside the roller using a reasonably applied amount of force (don't go all gorilla on it).

It may well be a press fit that has lost its grip - or perhaps a cement that has failed - in which case two options are to either find a way to cement the shaft in place, or get the mill repaired by the manufacturer...and post the results here, of course

Cheers!

I followed your advice and no spinning. So at least that is eliminated. Thanks!

I had the same problem suddenly a few brews ago, probably 60+ batches in. roller spun with the drill no problem but no grain went through. I switched to the hand crank, same problem. I remembered one of these posts and grabbed the air compressor and blew out around the rollers. No problems since.

I should probably make that common practice....

This was done on the last cleaning and it became worse.

My experience repeats most of what has already been posted previously.
One handy tip I find that works is giving the mill a running start before dumping the malt
into the hopper. Once the mill is "primed" there are no further issues unless you stop.

Cheers;
BeerCanuck

This is how I ended up finishing my grind on my last brew. Problem was that if I put more than 2 cups of grain in, you would hear and feel it start to free up and then it would stop milling again.

 

[Yambor44]

I had this same problem about a year ago. I took it apart, cleaned and oiled everything (this should be done occasionally anyway to prevent premature wear) but it didn't help.

I had my gap set at .032" and finally changed it to .037". No more problems since then, and my efficiency didn't change at all.

My gap is usually at factory which is .038 I believe. I moved it to .039 with no help.

My problem has been fixed. I disassembled the unit (not hard) and cleaned out the bushings with alcohol (they were getting a bit grimey,) lubed them with keg lube, installed some nylon washers on one end of each of the rollers (there was some side-to-side play that I wanted to eliminate,) and re-assembled, setting the gap to .038". I had been checking the gap periodically, so I don't think it was simply a gap issue. Maybe the bushings on the slave roller were heating up after a few revolutions and binding?

At any rate, I would recommend that all barley crusher users clean and lube every so often, and check the gap regularly. I buy my base malts in bulk (50# or 55# sacks) so I plan on cleaning and lubing the barley crusher every time I use up a sack of grain. It only takes about 10 minutes.

You'll need the following tools/supplies:

Phillips screwdriver
Rubbing alcohol
Q-tips
Keg lube
Feeler gauge (.038" works best for me)

*edit* - you'll also need a socket or wrench to remove the crusher from the wooden base. I think it was somewhere around 11mm or 7/16" but I'm not sure.

I'm glad you posted this as I just disassembled mine for daytripper's suggestion to check the shaft of the drive roller. I had just pulled the keg lube out (as I don't have vegetable oil on hand) and thought I needed to post to see if this would be sufficient. My bushings do look gunked up a little (black film on them) so I will clean with alcohol and report back.

I think maybe the biggest key to your fix is the nylon washers. I noticed there was some decent side play on mine when I disassembled. My belief for my problem is that grain is somehow binding the free roller and this could be the spot.

I would assume this thing needs to go back exactly how it was taken apart? Does it matter which way the rollers go in or are they good either direction?


Rob

 

[day_trippr]

[...]I would assume this thing needs to go back exactly how it was taken apart? Does it matter which way the rollers go in or are they good either direction?

Obviously the two rollers have to go back between the end plates in the same relative positions as prior to removal, otherwise the original "front" of the mill will become the "back", and you'll be cranking counter-clockwise But the driven roller can go back 180° end-for-end - the milling patterns on both rollers are symmetrical.

When you reassemble, don't just slam it all together and reef down the screws and mounting bolts, lest you cause the rollers to bind in their bearings. Leave the screws and bolts a bit loose, put the crank on, and check how free it turns while tightening everything up...

Cheers!

[edit] ps, thanks for posting the result of your drive roller check. I'd be concerned if the design lent itself to the drive shaft spinning inside the roller...

 

[Yambor44]

Symmetrical....that was the word I was looking for. Thanks! I'm doing a vid on the process. I'll try and upload it within the next couple of days.

 

[Yambor44]

Got it all back together. Seems if I tighten down a tad past barely snug on both of the short screws that bolt the plate to the front or the bolts that attach the base to the rollers, the drive roller gets into a bind. I kept tweaking all 4 of these fasteners until I could turn with the hand crank decently enough but you can still feel a little binding. Almost like it's egg shaped.

 

[Yambor44]

I milled some 14 #'s of grain Sunday for a 5 gallon batch. It whizzed right thru with no challenges. Grist had almost zero flour. Thought I was set at perfect until my efficiency dropped from 80 to 51%. I'll close the gap back towards default and see what we get there.